1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flow control apparatus and, more particularly, to such a flow control apparatus which is particularly well suited to individual configuration to perform predetermined operational objectives.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The science associated with the control of fluids incorporates a host of disciplines having application to a multitude of uses. While the particular characteristics of a given fluid influence the mechanics to be applied in achieving a predetermined objective, all fluids possess certain characteristics which must be taken into account in achieving operational objectives. For example, while the particular viscosity of a given fluid must be considered, the universal responses of fluids, regardless of viscosity, to given external influences are of more significant concern. Thus, the responses of fluids to pressure increases and decreases, velocity variations, pressure differentials, volumetric variations and friction are of paramount importance in the practical application of these disciplines.
Loosely identified by the appellation "fluid mechanics," these disciplines have a particularly useful application in the control and use of water in irrigation. While considerable technological advances have been made over many decades in the control of water used in irrigation, the need to conserve water, and otherwise to control its use, has significantly increased the practical demands upon fluid mechanics to find solutions. A premium has been placed upon the economical usage of available water resources resulting in the development of entirely new industries devoted to low volume and drip irrigation. In all types of irrigation there is a need to control the direction of fluid flow, to prevent a reversal of fluid flow, to control the volume of fluid flow, to prevent, or at least minimize, occlusion of fluid orifices by deleterious materials and otherwise to ensure that the desired quantity of water is delivered to the target from the source. These objectives criteria are typically more difficult to achieve in low volume and drip irrigation.
As contrasted with flood irrigation, for example, in low volume and drip irrigation water is delivered through a complex fluid system consisting of a multiplicity of conduits, couplings, and sprinklers or emitters. There are, thus, a significantly greater number of components comprising the fluid system which causes the cost of the fluid system, both in initial purchase price as well as in installation, to be considerably greater than would be the case with other types of irrigation systems. Accordingly, a premium is placed upon such components which can perform their operational objectives, but which are of low cost. Similarly, a premium is placed upon such components which can readily be serviced or repaired and which are sufficiently flexible in practical application to permit them to be adjusted to different operational objectives. For example, after installation, it may be determined that the optimum volume of water required for a particular target area is more or less than initially determined.
For these reasons and others, it has been recognized that it would be desirable to have a component which could be adjusted to increase or decrease the volume of water applied therethrough without having to replace the component to achieve this result. Similarly, it would be desirable to have such a component which could readily be disassembled without tools to free deleterious materials which may have become entrapped therein occluding fluid orifices. It would be desirable to have such a component which could readily be employed, if desired, completely to prevent the flow of water therethrough. Still further, it would be desirable to have such a component which could be manufactured and sold at minimum cost and yet which possessed a long operational life. Finally, it would be desirable to have such a component which was of virtually universal application in that it could be constructed in a variety of sizes and specific characteristics to control the flow of fluids of all types in virtually all areas of practical application. While prior art efforts have been directed to these objectives, they have never successfully been achieved, particularly in a single device.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a flow control apparatus operable to control the flow of fluids of all types which could be employed to control the volume of fluid flow adjusting to fluctuations in fluid pressure; which had particular application to low volume and drip irrigation systems; which could readily and inexpensively be reconfigured to adjust the operational objectives achieved thereby; which could, if desired, be so adjusted as completely to obstruct the flow of fluid therethrough; which could readily be disassembled for the removal of deleterious materials therefrom without the use of tools; and which could be manufactured and sold at minimal cost.